When individuals (human or any other living being) suffer a bone break, orthopaedic surgeons (or some other skilled person such as a veterinarian or physicians assistant) are often called upon to reduce the fractured bone. When surgery is necessary to reduce the fracture the surgeon may secure broken and/or fragmented pieces of bone by encircling the broken and/or fragmented bone with a suture material (e.g. a wire or a cable). In this cerclage procedure, a suture, cable, or wire is passed around the bone, drawn tightly, and secured. Bone cerclage procedures are well known in the art.
Surgical instruments useful for passing a suture material around a bone are also known. However, it has become increasingly important for physicians to perform familiar surgical techniques in a minimally invasive manner. Minimally invasive surgery results in less surgical trauma to the patient. These surgeries require smaller incisions, smaller and more precise instrumentation, less operating time, and result in less soft tissue trauma with similar or better patient outcomes. The value of minimally invasive surgical techniques is vast, because less soft tissue damage may result in speedier recoveries, less time off of work and less dependence on pain medication. Any minimally invasive surgical technique, however, requires not only a skilled surgeon, but also specially designed surgical tools. Therefore, a need for such surgical instruments is ever present.